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But despite the feel-good factor, there were some clouds on the horizon. Bram Posthumus is in West Africa, and followed Mr Bush's visit with a critical eye.
They were lovingly arranged so they could be seen to be hanging together as true brothers: the 50 stars and stripes of the United States, and Liberia's Lone Star. All bright and clean red, white and blue flags put in rusty holders along the newly resurfaced Tubman Boulevard that cuts through the capital Monrovia's Eastern suburb of Sinkor.The resurfacing, by the way, was done by a Chinese company...
Marginal
Bush's trip was not about tackling some of the biggest challenges facing the continent as we speak. If that were the case, he would have headed straight for Kenya, in the violent throes of a political debacle. Or he would have gone to Sudan and Chad, at each other's throat through proxies - or Zimbabwe, smack in the middle of a self-inflicted economic meltdown. Instead, Bush went to a few safe and relatively marginal places, where adulation was almost assured.
On the surface, it was all about singing the praises of those countries that have been following the mantra of economic liberalization, have shown a reasonable amount of good governance and are, generally speaking, open for business - American business preferably. Hence Benin, Tanzania and Ghana, where Bush was also able to show his compassionate side, highlighting the US$15bn his administration has poured into the fight against HIV/AIDS and the US's support in the battle against Africa's number one killer disease, malaria.
He refused to be drawn, however, on something that could really make a difference: an end to the massive cotton subsidies his government doles out to US farmers, skewing the world market against millions of African cotton farmers, putting them and their families at risk, in Benin and elsewhere.
 US President George W. Bush in Liberia (ANP/EPA photo) |
Genocide
It was also about support for countries emerging from terrible bloodshed, hence Liberia and Rwanda. In Kigali, Bush visited a genocide memorial, in calculated contrast to Bill Clinton's trite apology over international inertia during the mass killings during that insultingly brief visit at Kigali airport in March 1998. And in Liberia, memories of America's failure to come to the country's aid during its civil war in the late 1990's were swept under the welcome mat. President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is Bush's best friend on the continent, and Liberia America's staunchest African ally.
Oil
However, under the surface, there are three indications that Bush's visit is a sign that Africa is moving closer to the centre of Washington's radar screens. Three words: energy, China, security.
A few short years from now, it's expected that a quarter of US oil supplies will come from Africa. Nigeria and Angola are already major suppliers, a massive oil find has just been reported from Ghana and there are great riches under the territorial waters of Sao Tome and Principe. These need to be secured, mostly in the face of Chinese competition; that country is already Angola's biggest customer and recently attempted to buy into the Nigerian oil sector. Expect more of the same.
China
And remember that road resurfacing in Monrovia? That's what the Chinese are doing everywhere in Africa. They're building skyscrapers in Luanda, setting up businesses in Ivory Coast, selling arms to the Sudanese and getting infrastructure up and running all over the place. In short: instead of talking endlessly about development, the Chinese actually get things done. Africans generally welcome this and are - up to an extent - even prepared to swallow the less savoury aspects of the Chinese presence: the lack of any skills transfer, poor pay and working conditions, support for odious regimes such as Angola and Sudan and the establishment of numerous brothels wherever a Chinese company shows up.
Terrorism
So that's energy and China covered. What about security? In Bushland, this means talking about "terrrism" and "terrris". Well, he did not do this explicitly but it's very clear that the military planners in Washington consider Africa's vast Sahara/Sahel region a potential hiding ground for Al Qaeda related groups. We are treading a minefield here. When Mauritania's dictatorial government was overthrown in 2005, the US was remarkably relaxed about it. The new government clearly is a better ally against terrorists coming from Algeria. But what about the Sudanese government sponsoring militias that go on and kill Muslims in Darfur? Or the new Tuareg rebellions in Mali and Niger, which threaten strategic uranium reserves?
Photo-ops
This may well have been some of the thinking behind setting up a special military command structure for Africa, known as Africom. There was wild speculation in the Liberian press that Bush was going to give Africom to the Liberians. Trusted friend and all - and it had already been home to US spy facilities, during the Cold War. No concrete promises were forthcoming of course. And that, pretty much sums up this presidential safari: a bunch of good photo-ops, a chance to show America's kinder, gentler side, in short, nothing much - on the surface. But look underneath that feel good sheen: there are a few battles brewing.
Dakar, 22 February 2008
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the personal views of the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Radio Netherlands.
Tags: Africa, Benin, China, George W Bush, Ghana, Tanzania